Went to LaVilla this week...49 price fix.....and FABULOUS. Been our favorite for years. plenty of choices, appetizer and desserts. Best Filets ever. and....cash ......1 to 1. And choices of rum at the end.

From what I saw, there are about 50 buildings that are intact and level. They would need renovations and the supporting infrastructure (water, sewer, and power). That would be a great start to getting club O in the right direction. Not sure why there is such red tape with the rebuild, but whatever they do, the controlling entity should be set up properly so this ridiculous situation is not repeated in the future when the next inevitable storm occurs. Just my $.02

Jenni ... I know you have covered this extensively in the past, but just what's it going to take to get things moving with this? It's such a black eye for this area. With more visitors returning this winter and spring in greater numbers it's long past the time to clean this area up and at minimum begin to layout plans for a new and improved Club O. Let me put it this way ... if there are three things that had to happen right now what would they be in order of importance? If you don't care to answer this again I fully understand, but it was difficult to see this once thriving area laying there in a state of total ruin earlier this month. Thanks for all your input!

Nice report. Crazy close in Philly, but you made it. Smart move with the two-hour plus layover time there. The random screening process is frustrating. I realize it has to be random, but I think they're overdoing it these days. My wife got selected and got a 'positive' result for something in her purse. So, she had to empty the entire purse and they checked everything. Of course it turned up nothing (no one slipped weed in her purse on SXM). It turned out that her change purse had too many coins in it and they can't tell if something is being smuggled among all the coins. But, if you have a tight connection these kinds of delays can be brutal.

Overall, sounds like you had a great visit. Not sure about doing the same beach every single day (there's 36 others to choose from), but Mullet is really looking good these days and I can't blame you for wanting to spend most of your time there. As for the SXM airport experience, let's all hope it will be better the next time you return and less chaotic.

Deliverance just posted this on facebook


"Good night folks introducing our new nightly service to as Deliverance Dinner Delivery to Cooper Island only .
How it works you can make an order at our local restaurants in the East End area only , we will pick it up and bring to you with a service charge of 25% and your food must be more than $100.00. Orders must be in before 7.00 o clock thank you .
Thanks and looking forward to serving your dinner 🍛🍲🍕"

What an Awsome idea. Especially if the restaurant is full or if you want something different.

They will pick up food from red Rock or harbour view and deliver to your boat.

How late do you think you can arrive with a reservation without someone assuming you are not coming? I really don’t like the idea of having to get on my phone at 7:00 am to reserve a ball. If I were to do it, it would be because we planned to arrive pretty late (eg. after 5:30 pm).

We arrived on Friday the 15th. Went from Hartford to Phila to St. Maarten. Flights were great. Actually arrived 1 hr early. No problems at airport till the luggage carousel. With 1 carousel and more than 1 plane there, it was a while before our luggage came out. Leaving with luggage, we found a Hertz rep and went to get our car. Again a smooth operation. Went to Simpson Bay Resort and checked in. The process went well and we were off to the room. We had an up and down unit in the upper "B" building. We had the lower room and it was very clean and big enough for us. Got settled quickly and went down to the Buccaneer for some drinks and a bite to eat. The waitress that met was was GINA. She was fantastic!!! She made sure we had our drinks and food very quickly. The 2 for 1 is a great deal and Gina made sure we were well hydrated. We were pretty tired from the travel so it was an early night. The next morning and every morning after that, we had breakfast on our friends balcony. After breakfast, we made sandwiches, packed the cooler with drinks and were off to the beach.. Mullet is our favorite beach so we spent every day there. The 1st day we didn't get chairs on the front row, so i made friends with Pete and everyday after that we had 4 chairs and 2 umbrellas on the front row! The water was refreshing and clear as a bell. Pretty calm everyday so we could easily take our drinks out and relax in the water. as for dinners, we cooked a couple of times on the grills that were near the pool near the building. When we went out to eat, we ate at Jimbo's, Toppers, Skipjack's and Isola. Enjoyed each place. One day went shopping to Phillpsburg. It was on Sunday and only 1 cruise ship was in. Not A lot open, but found enough open stores to make purchases. On St.Patricks day, went to the Red Piano Bar. Had a great time. Place was packed and everyone was dancing, singing and have fun!! We left on Saturday the 23rd. Go to airport 3 hrs ahead of time. Check-in was about 20 min. TSA went quickly too. Then immigration. 2 people working the booths. Line started baking up quite a bit. Still made it thru in plenty of time. went to waiting area and found some seats. This is a very chaotic area. People all over the place rushing to get in line to get on plane. Its getting close to when we should be boarding, but no American Airline plane can bee seen. The announcement finally comes on that the flight was delayed and we will be leaving later than scheduled. Didn't seem like a problem right away. We had a 2+ hr lay-over in Phila so we should be ok. Plane finally arrives and while going boarding area, i get randomly selected to have a screening. I have nothing on me but my wallet and cell phone. Finally get on plane and pilot says we have to take off in the opposite direction than they usually do He doesn't know when we be allowed to go but last week they held him for an hour. We were lucky,it was 15 mins. We got to Phila and had 1 hr and 5 min to make our connection. After getting off plane, we ran thru the remaining areas very quickly. We got to the gate about 10 minutes before the door was to be closed. So all in all, I CAN'T WAIT TO DO IT ALL AGAIN NEXT YEAR.

When Leverick is filled at 3:30pm the mooring ball situation has hit a tough level.

Thanks Eric! I will call Sandra if I can’t get a response at the Fisheries. We are on the boat Finish Line and we are doing a sleep aboard Friday night. Where do you get your bait? A couple of years ago I got frozen squid and ballyhoo at Richardson Rigging that is just up the road from the Pub not far from TMM.

Bill

We were in Salt Pond Bay on Friday night. Very nice anchorage. It is a bit rough getting there as it's upwind and you're exposed the whole way. We had a newbie on board and for her it was a bit tense. It was, however, our last night out so she had some conditioning. If you have anyone a bit green I would recommend not using this anchorage as a first stop. A last stop is probably better.
From Salt Pond to the CYOA in CA it's straight downwind. It took us 3 hours and I think we probably averaged around 5.5 knots.

The pay station in Salt Pond Bay is not operational btw.

Used the ROAM app clearing in to USVI at Cruze Bay on Friday. Submitted it and waited. Ended up taking a mooring at Lind pt and started filling out the paper work. Got nothing for an hour so I very hesitantly decided to give the CBP office a call. I knew that was a bad idea by the way so I put it off as long as possible. And yup... I got an ear full. And I guess I deserved it 'cause I didn't realize the CBP office doesn't open until 10:00. I had called at 10:10. At 10:15 I got the all clear and did not need to come in to show myself. it WORKS! I'm very happy about that. And noted for future use - don't submit until the office is open at 10:00!

Hello,

As mentioned in an earlier post we are taking a few first timers sailing next year. (total 4 couples/8 people).
I have come up with the budget below.
This was based on one meal ashore a day, not all suppers.
I realize everyone spends different amounts, but I trying to somewhat manage expectations.
This was also intended to be in Canadian Currency.
So I am hoping these numbers are high.
I realize this very much a moving target.
So I am trying to work that out.
Looking at a 48 ' cat, flying Toronto-Saint Thomas
I can't get the format working, the first number is per couple, the second number per person.

Any editorials appreciated.


Item Group Per Couple Per Person
Boat&Fees (11000) 2750 1375
Airfare 1500 750
Ferry 240 120
Taxi 100 50
Car rental 50 25
Balls 70 35
Ice/Garbage 20 10
Departure Tax 100 50
Fuel/Water 20 10
Restaurants 700 350
Food 200 100
Hotels (2 nights) 500 250
Pre Supplies
Souvenirs
Total 6250 3125





Thanks,

Brian